Tablets will boost rise in web-enabled devises

Strong demand for tablets will help worldwide shipments of web-enabled devices rise in 2013, offsetting a decline in desktop and laptop computers, according to Gartner teams of prophets.

The analyst outfit has been looking at its tarot cards and decided that combined shipments of computers, tablets and mobile phones will reach 2.32 billion units in 2013. Shipments of tablets are expected to rise 53.4 per cent to 184 million units. Traditional desktop and laptop computers will continue to decline, with shipments forecast to total 303 million units, an 11.2 per cent drop on 2012, the research group said.

The mobile phone market will continue to experience steady growth, it said, with shipments projected to increase by 3.7 per cent to more than 1.8 billion units, it said. Price competition will be tough for the smaller, 7-inch, tablets, particularly over the Christmas sales period, Gartner said.